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Soft Launching my Next Big Project - Stopping

https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/12/soft-launching-my-next-big-project-stopping/

As of today, I've quit.

I started working full time before going to university. I worked part-time during my studies. Graduated into a crappy job. Got a place on a prestigious grad scheme. Worked my way up through the public and private sector. Start-ups and Ministries of State. Constantly working.

Not any more!

Yesterday was my last day in the office. Laptop and lanyard handed back. Out-Of-Office on permanently. Today is my first full day of being… what? Free? Unemployed? On extended sabbatical0? Retired?

I've tried to explain this to various people. But it is hard when I can't quite explain it to myself.

Internally, I'm calling it FIRE.

But I'm worried that I'll get bored and come crawling back to the world of work. If I tell people I'm retired, and then change my mind, I risk a humiliating climb down.

So I'm telling people it is a year off. An adult gap year. I have caring responsibilities1. I want an escape hatch in case things don't go as planned.

"Ah," said a friend who is much wiser than I, "You're soft-launching your retirement!"

In the sitcom Frasier, there's a wonderful scene featuring ultra-feminist Ros losing her shit at a party guest. Ros, a high-flying career woman, is dating a guy who drives a garbage truck. She's deeply uncomfortable that his low social status will reflect badly on her.

How do I introduce myself in this brave new world? "Hi, I'm Terence. I don't work."

Do I just go with the generic "I'm an IT consultant"? It has the advantage of moving the conversation onto something less dull!

Will people resent me2? Will I get frustrated that friends can only meet at weekends? Will my mind turn to jelly3?

Throughout this, I've been referring to myself. But I is really We.

Liz quit her job at the same time. So we're a pair of bums off on an adventure together.

There's no non-wanky way to say "we want to find ourselves".

We're not travelling East to ingest mystic herbs in search of a great spiritual revelation.

But who are we without work? What are we like as people when we're not assaulted by the alarm clock, stressed from a commute, and dulled by endless Zoom meetings?

Unlike some couples, our relationship thrived during the confines of lockdown. It turns out, we really like each other! We'll go hand-in-hand, stepping into the future.

So this is it. Our last pay cheques are deposited at the end of December, and then it is the first day of the rest of our lives.

We're off to see Paul McCartney at the O2 tonight. That seems like a pretty good way to kick things off.

What will 2025 brings? Time to find out.

It's traditional to end these sorts of posts with a hearty "Onwards!" - but, instead, I think I'll finish with "Offwards".

Regular reader will know that I've titled all my big job moves as "regenerations" - I started the tradition when I left Vodafone, as I went to GDS, and then was lured to NHSX, before heading back to GDS, and then shuffling sideways to CDDO, after which I bounced to Our Future Health

So what's a good video for going on hiatus?

Ah, of course!

0. Yes, I am aware of my privilege, thanks. ↩︎

1. Self-care counts! ↩︎

2. More than they already do. ↩︎

3. More than it already is. ↩︎